During the end of the Pleistocene Epoch and beginning of the Holocene Epoch, from 15,5000-10,00 B.C., the melting of the ice sheets during the end of the Ice Age from around the world was the actual flood of Noah, and the inspiration of flood myths and heritages from around the world. However, despite some mythological aspect to these stories, the flooding was real. This might have also caused the deaths of prehistoric mammals, along with some other causes. As for the ark, it was possible to build a boat large enough to seat a large number of people (20 at best). Noah and his family seem to have been real people, as explained by Josephus and Gibson. When flooding occurred in the Middle East, they built a boat large enough to save them from the water. Perhaps they had a domesticated animal with them, but's not certain. They found a place to stay on Mount Aragats in the Ararat Plain, and waited for the flood waters to pass. After the flooding, the Neolithic Revolution occurred.
Noah's Ark and Flood:
What the Bible Says:
To start this investigation off, we'll have to look at what the Bible says. In Genesis 5:28-32, a man named Lamech had a son named Noah, the hero of our tale. When Noah was 500 years old, he had three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth (also in Genesis 6:10). In Genesis 6, man had become so evil and God decided to eradicate us. He also intends to eliminate every creature on the Earth as well (5-7). God took pity on Noah and his family though, and told Noah to built an ark to help him and his family (his wife, sons, and his sons' wives) survive the coming disaster (8-9, 18) (also in Genesis 7:1). He also told him to get two of every creature on the Earth, a male and female, so that the species can repopulate the Earth again after the flood (19-20). In Genesis 7, God also tells Noah to take seven pairs of clean, and seven pairs of unclean, animals into the ark as well (2-3). When this was all done, Noah was 600 years old (6 and 11).
When the flood arrived, the "fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens opened up" (11). It rained "for forty days and nights" (12). 150 days later, the water had gone down a bit (24) (also in Genesis 8:3). In Genesis 8, the ark landed on top of "the mountains of Ararat" (4). When Noah was 601 years old, the water had completely resided and land appeared again (13-14). The clean animals were used as "burnt offerings" to God. In Genesis 9, God told Noah and his family to repopulate the Earth (1). When Noah was 950 years old, he passed away (28-29).
The flood was also mentioned by Jesus in the Gospels of Luke (Luke 17:26-27) and Matthew (Matthew 24:37-39).
Historical References to Noah and His Family:
We'll start off with Noah and his family. Were they real? Once again, we'll turn to Flavius Josephus, the first-century Jewish historian. In his book Antiquity of the Jews (93 A.D.), Josephus mentions Noah and the flood in Book 1 Chapter 3. It basically goes the same way that the Bible describes it: Man was wicked so God decided to get rid of us (p. 2), Noah was 600 years old when the flood happened (p. 3), and it rained for forty days (p. 5).
A second source comes from David J. Gibson in 1964. In his book, The Land of Eden Located, Gibson states that the name "Cush" was used by Hebrews a lot. However, it originated from a man named Cush, who was the son of Ham, who was a son of Noah. The Hebrews named different nationalities, or groups of people, after their ancestors (Chapter 4, p. 4-5). Therefore, it seems that Noah and his family were real people after all. They seem to have lived in Ethiopia (Ch. 4) (Esmail Hemmati, 2017, Ch. 4 pg. 227) or the Middle East (Ch. 5) (Esmail Hemmati, 2017, Ch. 4 pg. 227).
10,000 years ago, the Neolithic/First Agricultural Revolution happened. This was when people turned from hunting food to gathering it (farming) (History, 2018). This seems to have started in the Middle East (History, 2018) and Africa (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2010), and then later on in other countries (Cristian Violatti, 2018). Hypothetically-speaking, based on this information, it seems that Noah's descendants were in Ethiopia and the Middle East.
The Ice Age WAS The Flood?
However, around 20-10,000 years ago, the Earth grew warmer (David Bielo, 2012) (Shakin et al., 2012, pg. 50, Figure 2). The ice sheets stopped, and carbon dioxide was released from the oceans. The CO2 went up into the atmosphere, causing the Earth to get warmer and melting the ice sheets (Bielo, 2012). 12,000 years ago, methane was released from the Atlantic Ocean and hit Norway and Russia. The gas is still being released (slowly) today (Chelsea Harvey, 2017) (K. Andreassen et al., 2017, Abstract). This caused the ice to melt, causing floods all over the world (Ice Age Flood Institute, "An Introduction to the Ice Age Floods") (U.S. National Park Service, "Ice Age Floods") (Cosmographic Research, "Ice Age Floods," p. 7) (Egypt Origins, "The Prehistory of Egypt," p. 1) (Millman et al., 2013) (Maria Trimarchi, 2008, p. 4-5) (Herrie et al., 2018, "Abstract") (ScienceDaily, 2018). In particular, there was flooding in the Middle East (Cosmographic Research, "Ice Age Floods") (Maria Trimarchi, 2008, p. 4-5). It happened about 7.5-15,5000 (Maria Trimarchi, 2008, p. 4-5) (Millman et al., 2013) to 13-8,500 years ago (Muhammed el bastawesy, 2014, "Abstract," "Discussion" p. 2). Therefore, it seems that flooding occurred around the world right at the end of the Pleistocene Epoch (18-12,000 B.C.) and in the beginning of the Holocene Epoch (12,000-6,500 B.C.).
Interestingly, around 13-10,000 years ago, the prehistoric mammals such as the Woolly Mammoth and Smilodon became extinct. This was around the same time the Earth started to get warmer (Zimmermann, 2017) (Simon Fraser University Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology). Overhunting by man, climate change, a meteor, and the spread of a disease have been hypothesized to explain this, but nothing seems to be the exact cause (Zimmermann, 2017) (Simon Fraser University Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology). It might have been all of these (Simon Fraser University Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology). Ice Age flooding might have even played a hand in their extinction as well. All in all, 8,000 years ago, the Earth finally began to resemble what it looks like today (M.J. Siegert, 2014).
Now we have an answer for a "global" flood (due to the stopping of the ice sheets and rise of greenhouse gases carbon dioxide and methane), and it might have caused the extinction of a lot of prehistoric animals that coexisted with us. This all occurred somewhat recently (20-10,000 years ago at best). In 10,000 B.C., the Neolithic Revolution began and humans became farmers (History, 2018, "Neolithic Revolution")
(Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2010, "Central Africa": "The agricultural revolution") (Violatti, 2018, "Neolithic Period"). It seems that humanity actually benefited from the flooding.
A Historical Ark?
Noah's Ark Replica (One of MANY):
Trying to find anything factual on the ark has been frustrating. Apparent "discoveries" from 2010 and 2017 concerning the ark have come up as empty and false, especially due to poor scientific research (Alan Boyle, 2010) (Phoebe Weston, 2017). To be honest, trying to find a ship that's "300 cubits long, 50 cubits wide, and 30 cubits high" (Genesis 6:15) shouldn't be that hard to find... Unless it never existed in the first place? Does this mean that the ark is a myth? Well, Josephus didn't think so. In Antiquity of the Jews (Book 1, Chapter 3), he even names a few "Barbarian Histories writers" that mention the ark: Berosus the Chaldean, Hieronymus the Egyptian, Mnaseas, and Nay Nicolaus of Damascus (p. 6). According to Josephus, Berosus the Chaldean wrote that pieces of the ark were found in Armenia, and that they were taken by people and used as "amulets" (p. 6). Therefore, it seems that the ark seems to have existed, but it might have been torn apart to be used for supplies or for collections.
What was the actual ark? Well, what we think the ark looked like is not exactly accurate. The first man-made boats seem to have been made around 10-8,000 B.C. (up to 12,000 years ago). In 10,000 B.C., a giant reed boat was built in Azerbaijan (a country in Asia) that could seat up to 20 people. This was discovered on a cave painting (Jean Vaucher, 2014). It has also been hypothesized that Ice Age people used boats to colonize/travel around the world. This was around 70,000 years ago, at best (Heather Pringle, 2008). At best, it is said that humans learned to sail around 50,000 years ago (Robin McKie, 1999, p. 8). This pushes the creation of boats back even further. Since there was a boat large enough to carry 20 people 12,000 years ago, then perhaps Noah and his family managed to build a boat large enough to save themselves from the melting ice sheets. As to whether or not they had animals on their boats, that is questionable. However, we do know that boats around the end of the Pleistocene were large enough to carry a large group of people. This could have been how people survived the flooding when the ice of the Ice Age was melting.
According to John Walton, "rooms" on the ark are actually suppose to be translated as "reeds," the gopher "wood" is actually suppose to be "dismantled (?) shepherds' huts," and pitch (bitumen) was used to make the boat waterproof, based on Akkadian translations ("Lost World of the Flood," 2019, 18:21-21:38). Also, according to Nicolaus of Damascus, the ark was made of timber and bitumen (Edward Lipinski, 1971, pg. 53). Therefore, the actual ark/boat was not as large as modern models suggest.
However, where the ark landed is a bit of a mystery. Genesis says the "mountains of Ararat" (Genesis 8:4). According to Josephus, Nay Nicolaus of Damascus says the ship landed on a mountain called "Baris" (p. 6). The Quran says it landed in Mount Judi (James Black Weiner, 2018). However, it seems that Mount Ararat is where the ark seems to have landed (Boyle, 2010) (Weston, 2017) (Weiner, 2018) (PeopleofAr, 2013), and "Baris" seems to actually be Ararat (Rick Lanser, 2013, "The Research Of Artak Movsisyan," and the final section/par.).
Based on my resources about flooding in the Middle East, which occurred in the Black Sea around Turkey (Maria Trimarchi, 2008, p. 4-5) (Millman et al., 2013), and in Iraq, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia (Muhammed el bastawesy, 2014, "Abstract," "Discussion" p. 2). Mount Ararat is in Turkey (Weiner, 2018) (Encyclopaedia Britannica, "Mount Ararat"), but I've found something interesting. Lipinski (1971) says that the ark must have landed in the mountains of Armenia. "Baris," the mountain referenced by Josephus, is located in Armenia above Minyas (pg. 52-54). There is also a place called Ararat Plain in Armenia too. It is located "at the foot of Mount Aragats and Geghama Range," (Encyclopaedia Britannica, "Armenia," "The Land," "Relief" p. 2-3). Genesis did say that the ark landed in "the mountains of Ararat" (8:4), so maybe it landed in the mountain ranges of the Ararat Plain.
As to what mountain range it could be, it seems to be Mount Aragats. It is also "the highest point in Armenia" (Encyclopaedia Britannica, "Mount Aragats"), and since "Baris" is suppose to be a "great mountain," as stated by Nicolaus of Damascus (Lipinski, 1971, pg. 53), I think Mount Aragats is the winner. Plus, Armenia is close to Turkey and the Black Sea (University of Nebraska Omaha, "Map Gallery of Armenia, "General Reference Maps," "Political Maps," "Where is Armenia?"), so it is possible that flood waters from the Black Sea reached into Armenia when they hit Turkey. Therefore, I'd say that Mount Aragats is the mountain where the ark rested.
In short, the real ark was a smaller boat made out of reeds/timber and bitumen, and could have been large enough to carry up to 20 people. When the flooding happened, the boat landed on Mount Aragats, in the Ararat Plain.
Any Animals on the Ark?
Interestingly, humans began to domesticate animals 40,000 years ago (Jeremy Hsu, 2010, "Not Just Food"). Perhaps Noah's family, along with some other humans, saved some animals on their boats during the flooding. This is just a guess of mine however. It wasn't two of every animal though.
Just a Myth?
In 2014, a Babylonian tablet that dates back to 1900-1700 B.C. (Irving Finkel, 2014, p. 24) describes the Babylonian Flood Myth (p. 13). This is also known as "The Atrahasis Epic" (Joshua J. Mark, 2011). On the tablet, however, it describes how to build a circular-shaped ark (p. 24). However, instead of Noah being the hero, the tablet describes the myth about a man named Atra-hasis (p. 26) (Mark, 2011). The Atra-hasis' flood myth seems to be older than Noah's story (Finkel, 2014, p. 19).
Interestingly, in "The Atrahasis Epic," the Babylonian gods send a flood to destroy mankind. One god warns Atra-hasis, who is considered a good man, about the disaster and thus he builds an ark to survive the flood. This god, known as Enki (or Ea), instructs Atra-hasis to build it (Mark, 2011, p. 1). So it appears that, not only did Noah's story seem eerily familiar to a Babylonian flood myth that predates it, but Noah's story isn't the first one to talk about an ark. In fact, the original ark seems to have been circular instead of rectangular (Finkel, 2014).
Another flood myth occurs in The Epic of Gilgamesh. The very first form of writing was cuneiform, which was created in 3000 B.C. in Uruk. The Epic of Gilgamesh, the first written text discovered, dates to 2150-2000 B.C. (Do Hyeong Myeong, 2014, Chapter 4). This, and Atra-Hasis (1900-1700 B.C.), predate the story of Noah (Irving Finkell, 2013) (Joshua J. Mark, 2011). However, since the melting of the ice predates Gilgamesh's myth, it sounds like the global melting of the ice during the Ice Age could have inspired these flood myths, and other flood myths from around the world (Irving Finkell, 2013).
Note: Gilgamesh might have been a real king that lived in Uruk in 2500 B.C. Legends seem to have circulated around him after his death (Do Hyeong Myeong, 2014, Chapter 4).
Ice Age floods are also a part of Native American heritage (Ice Age Flood Institute, "An Introduction to the Ice Age Floods"), so I think the global flood myths did indeed arise from the melting Ice Age ice sheets. In fact, large floods occurred 12-18,000 years ago in North America (Ice Age Flood Institute, "An Introduction to the Ice Age Floods") (U.S. National Park Service, "Ice Age Floods"). Also, Ice Age floods (glacial-outburst floods) occurred in other parts of the world as well (Ice Age Flood Institute, "An Introduction to the Ice Age Floods").
However, according to John Walton, the Israelites didn't borrow Noah's story from the Babylonians (Gilgamesh). It was public knowledge in the ancient world about the flood, but different interpretations arose. The Israelites' interpretation of, or meaning behind, the flood is actually different from the Babylonians' ("Lost World of the Flood," 2019, 21:38-23:36). This, and how the boat that Noah used was made (Babylonians would have made a large circular ark instead of a normal boat), might help to differentiate Noah's story from Gilgamesh's and other flood myths.
David Toshio Tsumura (1994) also says that the Hebrews did not borrow the creation myths from Babylon to produce their own (pg. 32). Jean Bottero (2001) says that Genesis has "too many divergent details" to have just been a copy of Atrahasis and Gilgamesh (pg. 227).
Therefore, it seems that Noah's story isn't a myth. Besides, historical references, and the naming of different regions using the names of people within Noah's family, seem to indicate that Noah and his family were real people.
As for other myths and heritages, we can't just say outright if there weren't other real people that survived the dangerous Ice Age floods. Some were probably mythical figures, but that doesn't mean that all of them were.
Conclusion:
During the end of the Pleistocene Epoch and beginning of the Holocene Epoch, from 15,5000-10,00 B.C., the melting of the ice sheets during the end of the Ice Age from around the world was the actual flood of Noah, and the inspiration of flood myths and heritages from around the world. However, despite some mythological aspect to these stories, the flooding was real. This might have also caused the deaths of prehistoric mammals, along with some other causes. As for the ark, it was possible to build a boat large enough to seat a large number of people (20 at best). Noah and his family seem to have been real people, as explained by Josephus and Gibson. When flooding occurred in the Middle East, they built a boat large enough to save them from the water. Perhaps they had a domesticated animal with them, but's not certain. They found a place to stay on Mount Aragats in the Ararat Plain, and waited for the flood waters to pass. After the flooding, the Neolithic Revolution occurred.
Noah's Ark Replica (One of MANY):
What was the actual ark? Well, what we think the ark looked like is not exactly accurate. The first man-made boats seem to have been made around 10-8,000 B.C. (up to 12,000 years ago). In 10,000 B.C., a giant reed boat was built in Azerbaijan (a country in Asia) that could seat up to 20 people. This was discovered on a cave painting (Jean Vaucher, 2014). It has also been hypothesized that Ice Age people used boats to colonize/travel around the world. This was around 70,000 years ago, at best (Heather Pringle, 2008). At best, it is said that humans learned to sail around 50,000 years ago (Robin McKie, 1999, p. 8). This pushes the creation of boats back even further. Since there was a boat large enough to carry 20 people 12,000 years ago, then perhaps Noah and his family managed to build a boat large enough to save themselves from the melting ice sheets. As to whether or not they had animals on their boats, that is questionable. However, we do know that boats around the end of the Pleistocene were large enough to carry a large group of people. This could have been how people survived the flooding when the ice of the Ice Age was melting.
According to John Walton, "rooms" on the ark are actually suppose to be translated as "reeds," the gopher "wood" is actually suppose to be "dismantled (?) shepherds' huts," and pitch (bitumen) was used to make the boat waterproof, based on Akkadian translations ("Lost World of the Flood," 2019, 18:21-21:38). Also, according to Nicolaus of Damascus, the ark was made of timber and bitumen (Edward Lipinski, 1971, pg. 53). Therefore, the actual ark/boat was not as large as modern models suggest.
However, where the ark landed is a bit of a mystery. Genesis says the "mountains of Ararat" (Genesis 8:4). According to Josephus, Nay Nicolaus of Damascus says the ship landed on a mountain called "Baris" (p. 6). The Quran says it landed in Mount Judi (James Black Weiner, 2018). However, it seems that Mount Ararat is where the ark seems to have landed (Boyle, 2010) (Weston, 2017) (Weiner, 2018) (PeopleofAr, 2013), and "Baris" seems to actually be Ararat (Rick Lanser, 2013, "The Research Of Artak Movsisyan," and the final section/par.).
Based on my resources about flooding in the Middle East, which occurred in the Black Sea around Turkey (Maria Trimarchi, 2008, p. 4-5) (Millman et al., 2013), and in Iraq, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia (Muhammed el bastawesy, 2014, "Abstract," "Discussion" p. 2). Mount Ararat is in Turkey (Weiner, 2018) (Encyclopaedia Britannica, "Mount Ararat"), but I've found something interesting. Lipinski (1971) says that the ark must have landed in the mountains of Armenia. "Baris," the mountain referenced by Josephus, is located in Armenia above Minyas (pg. 52-54). There is also a place called Ararat Plain in Armenia too. It is located "at the foot of Mount Aragats and Geghama Range," (Encyclopaedia Britannica, "Armenia," "The Land," "Relief" p. 2-3). Genesis did say that the ark landed in "the mountains of Ararat" (8:4), so maybe it landed in the mountain ranges of the Ararat Plain.
As to what mountain range it could be, it seems to be Mount Aragats. It is also "the highest point in Armenia" (Encyclopaedia Britannica, "Mount Aragats"), and since "Baris" is suppose to be a "great mountain," as stated by Nicolaus of Damascus (Lipinski, 1971, pg. 53), I think Mount Aragats is the winner. Plus, Armenia is close to Turkey and the Black Sea (University of Nebraska Omaha, "Map Gallery of Armenia, "General Reference Maps," "Political Maps," "Where is Armenia?"), so it is possible that flood waters from the Black Sea reached into Armenia when they hit Turkey. Therefore, I'd say that Mount Aragats is the mountain where the ark rested.
In short, the real ark was a smaller boat made out of reeds/timber and bitumen, and could have been large enough to carry up to 20 people. When the flooding happened, the boat landed on Mount Aragats, in the Ararat Plain.
Any Animals on the Ark?
Interestingly, humans began to domesticate animals 40,000 years ago (Jeremy Hsu, 2010, "Not Just Food"). Perhaps Noah's family, along with some other humans, saved some animals on their boats during the flooding. This is just a guess of mine however. It wasn't two of every animal though.
Just a Myth?
In 2014, a Babylonian tablet that dates back to 1900-1700 B.C. (Irving Finkel, 2014, p. 24) describes the Babylonian Flood Myth (p. 13). This is also known as "The Atrahasis Epic" (Joshua J. Mark, 2011). On the tablet, however, it describes how to build a circular-shaped ark (p. 24). However, instead of Noah being the hero, the tablet describes the myth about a man named Atra-hasis (p. 26) (Mark, 2011). The Atra-hasis' flood myth seems to be older than Noah's story (Finkel, 2014, p. 19).
Interestingly, in "The Atrahasis Epic," the Babylonian gods send a flood to destroy mankind. One god warns Atra-hasis, who is considered a good man, about the disaster and thus he builds an ark to survive the flood. This god, known as Enki (or Ea), instructs Atra-hasis to build it (Mark, 2011, p. 1). So it appears that, not only did Noah's story seem eerily familiar to a Babylonian flood myth that predates it, but Noah's story isn't the first one to talk about an ark. In fact, the original ark seems to have been circular instead of rectangular (Finkel, 2014).
Another flood myth occurs in The Epic of Gilgamesh. The very first form of writing was cuneiform, which was created in 3000 B.C. in Uruk. The Epic of Gilgamesh, the first written text discovered, dates to 2150-2000 B.C. (Do Hyeong Myeong, 2014, Chapter 4). This, and Atra-Hasis (1900-1700 B.C.), predate the story of Noah (Irving Finkell, 2013) (Joshua J. Mark, 2011). However, since the melting of the ice predates Gilgamesh's myth, it sounds like the global melting of the ice during the Ice Age could have inspired these flood myths, and other flood myths from around the world (Irving Finkell, 2013).
Note: Gilgamesh might have been a real king that lived in Uruk in 2500 B.C. Legends seem to have circulated around him after his death (Do Hyeong Myeong, 2014, Chapter 4).
Ice Age floods are also a part of Native American heritage (Ice Age Flood Institute, "An Introduction to the Ice Age Floods"), so I think the global flood myths did indeed arise from the melting Ice Age ice sheets. In fact, large floods occurred 12-18,000 years ago in North America (Ice Age Flood Institute, "An Introduction to the Ice Age Floods") (U.S. National Park Service, "Ice Age Floods"). Also, Ice Age floods (glacial-outburst floods) occurred in other parts of the world as well (Ice Age Flood Institute, "An Introduction to the Ice Age Floods").
However, according to John Walton, the Israelites didn't borrow Noah's story from the Babylonians (Gilgamesh). It was public knowledge in the ancient world about the flood, but different interpretations arose. The Israelites' interpretation of, or meaning behind, the flood is actually different from the Babylonians' ("Lost World of the Flood," 2019, 21:38-23:36). This, and how the boat that Noah used was made (Babylonians would have made a large circular ark instead of a normal boat), might help to differentiate Noah's story from Gilgamesh's and other flood myths.
David Toshio Tsumura (1994) also says that the Hebrews did not borrow the creation myths from Babylon to produce their own (pg. 32). Jean Bottero (2001) says that Genesis has "too many divergent details" to have just been a copy of Atrahasis and Gilgamesh (pg. 227).
Therefore, it seems that Noah's story isn't a myth. Besides, historical references, and the naming of different regions using the names of people within Noah's family, seem to indicate that Noah and his family were real people.
As for other myths and heritages, we can't just say outright if there weren't other real people that survived the dangerous Ice Age floods. Some were probably mythical figures, but that doesn't mean that all of them were.
Conclusion:
During the end of the Pleistocene Epoch and beginning of the Holocene Epoch, from 15,5000-10,00 B.C., the melting of the ice sheets during the end of the Ice Age from around the world was the actual flood of Noah, and the inspiration of flood myths and heritages from around the world. However, despite some mythological aspect to these stories, the flooding was real. This might have also caused the deaths of prehistoric mammals, along with some other causes. As for the ark, it was possible to build a boat large enough to seat a large number of people (20 at best). Noah and his family seem to have been real people, as explained by Josephus and Gibson. When flooding occurred in the Middle East, they built a boat large enough to save them from the water. Perhaps they had a domesticated animal with them, but's not certain. They found a place to stay on Mount Aragats in the Ararat Plain, and waited for the flood waters to pass. After the flooding, the Neolithic Revolution occurred.
Links:
Genesis:
The New American Bible (Vatican):
Chapter 5:
http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0839/__P7.HTM
Chapter 6:
http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0839/__P8.HTM
Chapter 7:
http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0839/__P9.HTM
Chapter 8:
http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0839/__PA.HTM
Gospels:
The New American Bible (Vatican):
Luke 17:26-27:
http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0839/__PX0.HTM
Matthew 24:37-39:
http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0839/__PVX.HTM
Historical Reference to Noah and His Family:
Josephus, Flavius. Antiquity of the Jews. 93 A.D. Book 1 Chapter 3:
http://penelope.uchicago.edu/josephus/ant-1.html
Gibson, David J. The Land of Eden Located. 1964. Chapter 4 p. 4-5; Chapter 5:
https://nabataea.net/explore/biblical_studies/biblicalhistory/eden/
Esmail Hemmati (2017) (Ch. 4 pg. 227):
https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Spirit_Of_Truth_Bible_The_Herald_Of/aRclDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Gibson,+David+J.+The+Land+of+Eden+Located.+1964&pg=PA227&printsec=frontcover
Neolithic/First Agricultural Revolution:
History. "Neolithic Revolution." January 12, 2018:
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.history.com/.amp/topics/pre-history/neolithic-revolution
Encyclopaedia Britannica. "Central Africa." "The agricultural revolution." 2010:
https://www.britannica.com/place/central-Africa/The-agricultural-revolution#ref467553
Cristian Violatti. "Neolithic Period." Ancient History Encyclopedia. April 2, 2018:
https://www.ancient.eu/Neolithic/
Pleistocene Epoch/Ice Age and Floods:
Kim Ann Zimmermann (2017):
https://www.livescience.com/40311-pleistocene-epoch.html
International Chronostratigraphic Chart (2019 Version):
http://stratigraphy.org/ICSchart/ChronostratChart2019-05.jpg
Link 2:
http://stratigraphy.org/index.php/ics-chart-timescale
Egypt Origins:
"The Prehistory of Egypt" (P. 1):
http://www.egyptorigins.org/prehistory.htm
C. Claiborne Ray (2016) (P. 7):
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/07/science/was-there-an-ice-age-in-the-southern-hemisphere.html
David Bielo (2012):
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-thawed-the-last-ice-age/
Shakin et al., (2012) (Pg. 50, Figure 2):
https://www.nature.com/articles/nature10915.epdf?referrer_access_token=msu1VMnsRCxx862oU6Se39RgN0jAjWel9jnR3ZoTv0OKJnkv74AGCoyUL672-Tzx8IE8DrDelqhC97Zvh_7LVrhCxd8zdScV63bQFBAH1w9Yz3a48OvK1gt2_86p0c0Wkw_c4lqnHKA66N7I39Er4ueZ_3iAWp2GBK-9Lf8L_WdF6SD2BRrLv64lz2l5KiADtO50GY8x-rd81eWlXa3Vn3418iV0x2GVfAdRvG4V45-H2UvnQgkquXJgBPCJmNhG&tracking_referrer=www.scientificamerican.com
Chelsea Harvey (2017):
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2017/06/01/like-champagne-bottles-being-opened-scientists-document-an-ancient-arctic-methane-explosion/
K. Andreassen et al., (2017) ("Abstract"):
https://science.sciencemag.org/content/356/6341/948
Cosmographic Research:
"Ice Age Floods":
http://www.cosmographicresearch.org/ice_age_floods.htm
Maria Trimarchi (2008) (P. 4-5):
https://science.howstuffworks.com/nature/climate-weather/storms/great-flood1.htm
Millman et al., (2013):
https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/evidence-suggests-biblical-great-flood-noahs-time-happened/story?id=17884533
Muhammed el bastawesy (2014) ( "Abstract," "Discussion" p. 2):
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/261834700_The_geomorphological_and_hydrogeological_evidences_for_a_Holocene_deluge_in_Arabia
Ice Age Flood Institute ("An Introduction to the Ice Age Floods"):
https://iafi.org/about-the-ice-age-floods/introduction/
U.S. National Park Service ("Ice Age Floods"):
https://www.nps.gov/iafl/index.htm
Herrie et al., (2018) ("Abstract"):
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-22453-z
ScienceDaily (2018):
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/03/180322112713.htm
Greenhouse Gases:
Center for Climate and Energy Solutions ("Main Greenhouse Gases"):
https://www.c2es.org/content/main-greenhouse-gases/
M.J. Siejert (2014):
https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/earth-and-planetary-sciences/last-glacial
The Ark/Prehistoric Boats:
Alan Boyle (2010):
https://www.nbcnews.com/sciencemain/noahs-ark-found-not-so-fast-6C10404024
Phoebe Weston (2017):
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-5020131/amp/Experts-claim-Noah-s-Ark-Mount-Ararat.html
Josephus, Flavius. Antiquity of the Jews. 93 A.D. Book 1 Chapter 3:
http://penelope.uchicago.edu/josephus/ant-1.html
Jean Vaucher (2014):
http://www.iro.umontreal.ca/~vaucher/History/Prehistoric_Craft/
Heather Pringle (2008):
https://www.discovermagazine.com/the-sciences/did-humans-colonize-the-world-by-boat
Azerbaijan:
Encyclopaedia Britannica (2019):
https://www.britannica.com/place/Azerbaijan
Robin McKie (1999) (P. 8):
https://www.theguardian.com/science/1999/nov/28/archaeology.uknews
John Walton: "The Lost World of the Flood." 2019. (18:21-21:38):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCaXtrntcCA
Edward Lipinski (1971) (Pg. 53):
https://archive.org/details/LipinskyElsabode/page/n41/mode/2up
Mountains:
James Black Weiner (2018):
https://www.ancient.eu/Mount_Ararat/
PeopleofAr (2013):
https://www.peopleofar.com/2013/08/11/noahs-ark-in-the-mountains-of-armenia/
Rick Lanser (2013) ("The Research Of Artak Movsisyan," and the final section/par.):
Edward Lipinski (1971) (Pg. 52-54):
https://archive.org/details/LipinskyElsabode/page/n41/mode/2up
Encyclopaedia Britannica:
"Mount Ararat":
https://www.britannica.com/place/Mount-Ararat
"Armenia," ("The Land," "Relief" p. 2-3):
https://www.britannica.com/place/Armenia
"Mount Aragats":
https://www.britannica.com/place/Mount-Aragats
University of Nebraska Omaha ("Map Gallery of Armenia, "General Reference Maps," "Political Maps," "Where is Armenia?"):
http://maps.unomaha.edu/peterson/funda/MapLinks/Armenia/Armenia.htm
Domestication of Animals:
Jeremy Hsu (2010) ("Not Just Food"):
https://www.livescience.com/6818-caring-animals-shaped-human-evolution.html
Just a Myth?:
Irving Finkell (2013):
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/10574119/Noahs-Ark-the-facts-behind-the-Flood.html
Joshua J. Mark (2011):
https://www.ancient.eu/article/227/the-atrahasis-epic-the-great-flood--the-meaning-of/
Do Hyeong Myeong (2014) (Chapter 4):
https://www.zum.de/whkmla/sp/1213/jeannedarc/mdh4.html#iv1
Ice Age Flood Institute ("An Introduction to the Ice Age Floods"):
https://iafi.org/about-the-ice-age-floods/introduction/
John Walton: "The Lost World of the Flood." 2019. (21:38-23:36):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCaXtrntcCA
David Toshio Tsumura (1994) (Pg. 32):
https://www.google.com/books/edition/I_Studied_Inscriptions_from_Before_the_F/g5MGVP6gAPkC?hl=en&gbpv=1&printsec=frontcover
Jean Bottero (2001) (Pg. 227):
https://books.google.com/books?id=qFptAAAAMAAJ&focus=searchwithinvolume&q=genesis
